Frank Darabont’s ‘L.A. Noir’ Changes Name to ‘Lost Angels’

Ever since Frank Darabont made his controversial exit from 'The Walking Dead,' we've been intrigued to see what TV projects the director would tackle next. We've long heard about Darabont's TNT follow-up, the ambitious period gangster drama 'L.A. Noir' featuring a host of stars alongside 'Walking Dead' alum Jon Bernthal and Jeffrey DeMunn, but we were surprised to learn after the pick-up the series might change its title. Well, it seems they've settled on 'Lost Angels' as the new moniker, but find out more about the controversy inside!

We were glad to see that TNT opted to move forward with Frank Darabont's post-'Walking Dead' drama 'L.A. Noir,' though it seems the Jon Bernthal series has since outgrown its title. The series will be re-titled 'Lost Angels,' the change surprisingly owed to the Rockstar game of a similar name.

“It was going to be called L.A. Noir, based on the book by John Buntin," Darabont recently told io9. "But the video game company with the video game called L.A. Noire (with an e!) threatened to sue the s--- out of me, TNT, every company that actually ever worked in Hollywood. And they have the billions of dollars to back it up, apparently. So we're changing the title, and I do believe the title is going to be Lost Angels.”

Written and directed by Darabont, ‘Lost Angels’ revolves around the police force’s pursuit of mobster Mickey Cohen and takes its basis from John Buntin’s book ‘L.A. Noir: The Struggle For The Soul Of America’s Most Seductive City,’ which recounts the story of decades-long conflicts between the LAPD and the city’s criminals.

The series features Bernthal as Joe Teague, the LAPD cop at the center of the drama, and ‘Heroes’ alum Milo Ventimiglia as a former marine who served with Bernthal’s character during World War II and now works as a budding lawyer for the mob. Rounding out the high-profile cast is former ‘Justified’ guest star Neal McDonough as LAPD Chief Parker, frequent Darabont collaborator Jeffrey DeMunn as detective Hal Morrison, along with Alexa Davalos as Jasmine, a “beauty with a complicated past.”

As previously reported, 'Star Trek' star Simon Pegg will appear in the show's pilot as third-rate comedian and mob hanger-on Hecky Nash, of which Darabont said "It's not a funny role. It's a serious role. He's laying down a dramatic performance in a flawless, American dialect of the era...People who are Simon Pegg fans will be blown away by what he has done in this. I am his friend, and I've always known he's a very good dramatic actor and I expected great things from him, even my expectations were knocked on my ass by how good he is."

Well, what say you? Are you excited to see Darabont's new series, now titled 'Lost Angels?' Tell us in the comments what you want to see from the series when it makes its eventual debut!